April 15th: On this day1964, The Beatles filmed outside shots at the Scala Theatre in Tottenham Street London for their forthcoming movie ‘A Hard Day’s Night’.
1967, Jimi Hendrix The Walker Brothers, Cat Stevens and Engelbert Humperdink all appeared at the The Odeon, Blackpool, England, tickets cost 5 and 10 shillings, ($0.70 and $1.40).
1967, Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Somethin’ Stupid’. They became the only father and daughter act ever to score a No.1 single. UB40 singer Ali Cambell covered the song in 1995 with his daughter Kibbi. Robbie Williams had a 2001 UK No.1 with his version of the song featuring Nicole Kidman.
1972, Roberta Flack started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’. Written in 1957 by political singer/songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, who was later to become his wife. At the time the couple were lovers, although MacColl was married to someone else. MacColl is the father of singer/songwriter Kirsty MacColl. The song was featured in the Clint Eastwood film ‘Play Misty For Me.’
1978, Television were forced to postpone their gig at Bristol’s Colston Hall after the 40 foot truck carrying their equipment was involved in a crash killing the driver.
1982, Billy Joel was reported to be in ”quite good” condition after major surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. The singer broke his left wrist when his 1978 Harley Davidson hit a car in Long Island, New York. The hospital switchboard was jammed with calls from his fans, and Joel issued a plea through a spokesman that the calls ceased because they were ”tying up lines for those people who are really sick.”
1989, American all girl group The Bangles started a four week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Eternal Flame.’ Also a No.1 in Australia (biggest selling single of 1989) and the United States.
1996, Milli Vanilli singer Rob Pilatus was jailed for 90 days by a Los Angeles judge for three violent attacks and parole violation.
1996, The rest of Jerry Garcia’s ashes were scattered near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. A small portion had been scattered in the Ganges River in India 11 days earlier. The Grateful Dead leader had died on 9th Aug 1995.
1999, The body of Tammy Wynette was exhumed from her grave in an attempt to settle a dispute over how the country music legend died. A new autopsy was conducted on her a week after three of her daughters filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her doctor and her husband and manager, George Richey, claiming they were responsible for her death 12 months ago. Richey said he had requested the autopsy because of the allegations made against him.
2001, Punk pioneer Joey Ramone (Jeffrey Ross Hyman) singer of the Ramones died after losing a long battle with lymphatic cancer aged 49. On November 30, 2003, a block of East 2nd Street in New York City was officially renamed Joey Ramone Place.
2003, Beyonce was sued by the Wilhemina Artist Agency who claimed she hadn’t paid them the commission for her L’Oreal ads. The agency claimed the singer refused to pass on the 10 percent of the $1m (£640,000), deal that was brokered by the agency.
2005, John Fred Gourrier, singer from John Fred and his Playboy Band died after a long battle with kidney disease aged 63. Had the 1967 US No.1 single ‘Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)’, a parody of The Beatles song ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’.
2010, After receiving some bad reviews and even enduring some boos during her performance, Whitney Houston brushed off criticism of her first show in the UK in over eleven years by insisting she was playing to a “tough crowd”. She had recently been hospitalized with chronic rhinopharyngitis, which is a swelling of the membranes in the nose and throat.
2015, It was reported that Digital music revenues matched physical sales for the first time in 2014, thanks to strong growth in the streaming market. The digital market rose 6.9% to $6.9 billion (£4.6 billion), representing 46% of all global music sales. CDs, vinyl and other physical formats also accounted for 46% of the market. Pharrell Williams’s ‘Happy’ was the most-downloaded single globally in 2014, with Taylor Swift the most popular artist.